What is the difference between bones and muscles

The spinal cord runs down the centre of the spine, carrying all the nerve signals from the brain to the rest of the body and also carrying sensory input from the body back to the brain. There are different types of muscles, each with different functions, but they all work to produce movement of the body or to stabilise the body. Skeletal muscles are also responsible for generating heat in the body to maintain body temperature and help regulate blood sugar levels.

Skeletal muscle voluntary muscle or striated muscle is muscle that you can consciously control. Skeletal muscles run from one bone to another, usually passing at least one joint. Each muscle is comprised of muscle tissue, blood vessels, nerves and tendons.

Skeletal muscles are usually attached to the bone by tendons. When your brain tells a muscle to contract, it shortens, pulling one bone towards another across a joint. Muscles work in pairs — when one shortens, a corresponding muscle lengthens.

For example, when you contract your bicep on the front of your upper arm, your tricep on the back of your upper arm lengthens. Physical activity maintains or increases the strength of skeletal muscles. Skeletal muscle plays an important part in regulating blood sugar glucose levels, by taking up glucose from the blood to use as fuel or to store for later.

Smooth muscle is found inside blood vessels and organs like the intestines. It contracts to move substances through the organ, and so helps regulate your blood pressure, airways and digestion. The heart is made of special muscle called cardiac muscle. Joints connect bones. They provide stability to the skeleton, and allow movement. There are different types of joints. Joints in the arms and legs are synovial joints.

The ends of the bones are covered with cartilage and separated by the joint cavity which is filled with a thick gel called synovial fluid. Synovial fluid helps to lubricate the cartilage and provides nourishment to it. Ligaments stretch across the joint, connecting one bone to another and help to stabilise the joint so it can only move in certain directions.

Joints in the spine and pelvis and the joints between the ribs and the sternum are cartilaginous joints — they provide more stability but not as much movement. The bones are connected by cartilage in this type of joint. Fibrous joints allow no movement — just stability. They are held together by fibrous connective tissue.

You have fibrous joints in your skull. They all have different forms of treatment. The best way to have healthy bones and prevent illness and injury to the bones is to eat a healthy diet that includes calcium-rich foods, limit soft drinks, caffeinated drinks and alcohol, be as active as you can, do weight bearing and high impact activities if you can, get enough sunshine and keep to a healthy weight.

Many conditions can affect the joints. Arthritis, which is characterised by joint pain and stiffness, is one of the most common.

Different types of arthritis have different causes. Muscle injuries and disorders can cause weakness, pain or paralysis.

Sports injuries are a common way that muscles can be damaged. Conditions affecting the muscles include:. If you are having problems with any part of your musculoskeletal system, your doctor GP is a good place to start. Other healthcare professionals who are involved in diagnosing and treating musculoskeletal problems are physiotherapists and specialists such as rheumatologists or sports medicine physicians.

Learn more here about the development and quality assurance of healthdirect content. Exercise can help reduce the symptoms of arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions. Learn more about exercise, and where to find support. Call Read more on Musculoskeletal Australia website. Joints allow our bodies to move in many ways. Some joints open and close like a hinge such as knees and elbows , whereas others allow for more complicated movement — a shoulder or hip joint, for example, allows for backward, forward, sideways, and rotating movement.

Reviewed by: Larissa Hirsch, MD. Larger text size Large text size Regular text size. Bones are made up of two types of bone tissues: Compact bone is the solid, hard outside part of the bone. It looks like ivory and is extremely strong. Holes and channels run through it, carrying blood vessels and nerves. Cancellous KAN-suh-lus bone , which looks like a sponge, is inside compact bone. It is made up of a mesh-like network of tiny pieces of bone called trabeculae truh-BEH-kyoo-lee. This is where bone marrow is found.

How Do Bones Grow? Bone contains three types of cells: osteoblasts AHS-tee-uh-blastz , which make new bone and help repair damage osteocytes AHS-tee-o-sites , mature bone cells which help continue new born formation osteoclasts AHS-tee-o-klasts , which break down bone and help to sculpt and shape it What Are Muscles and What Do They Do? Humans have three different kinds of muscle: Skeletal muscle is attached by cord-like tendons to bone, such as in the legs, arms, and face.

Skeletal muscles are called striated STRY-ay-ted because they are made up of fibers that have horizontal stripes when viewed under a microscope. These muscles help hold the skeleton together, give the body shape, and help it with everyday movements known as voluntary muscles because you can control them. They can contract shorten or tighten quickly and powerfully, but they tire easily.

Smooth, or involuntary, muscle is also made of fibers, but this type of muscle looks smooth, not striated. We can't consciously control our smooth muscles; rather, they're controlled by the nervous system automatically which is why they're also called involuntary. Examples of smooth muscles are the walls of the stomach and intestines, which help break up food and move it through the digestive system.

Smooth muscle is also found in the walls of blood vessels, where it squeezes the stream of blood flowing through the vessels to help maintain blood pressure. Smooth muscles take longer to contract than skeletal muscles do, but they can stay contracted for a long time because they don't tire easily.

Cardiac muscle is found in the heart. The walls of the heart's chambers are composed almost entirely of muscle fibers. Cardiac muscle is also an involuntary type of muscle. Its rhythmic, powerful contractions force blood out of the heart as it beats.

How Do Muscles Work? Joints are classified by their range of movement: Immovable, or fibrous, joints don't move. The dome of the skull, for example, is made of bony plates, which move slightly during birth and then fuse together as the skull finishes growing.

Skeletal muscles vary in their speeds of contraction. Skeletal muscles, which are responsible for posture and movement, are attached to bones and arranged in opposing groups around joints. For example, muscles that bend the elbow biceps are countered by muscles that straighten it triceps. These countering movements are balanced. The balance makes movements smooth, which helps prevent damage to the musculoskeletal system.

Skeletal muscles are controlled by the brain and are considered voluntary muscles because they operate with a person's conscious control. The size and strength of skeletal muscles are maintained or increased by regular exercise. In addition, growth hormone and testosterone help muscles grow in childhood and maintain their size in adulthood. Smooth muscles control certain bodily functions that are not readily under a person's control. Smooth muscle surrounds many arteries and contracts to adjust blood flow.

It surrounds the intestines and contracts to move food and feces along the digestive tract. Smooth muscle also is controlled by the brain but not voluntarily.